Lil Wayne’s Dentist Makes Him Miss Arizona Court Date

Dental issues reportedly cause Lil Wayne to miss his scheduled court date on Tuesday in Yuma County, Arizona, where he faces felony drug and weapons charges stemming from his January 22 arrest.

The rapper’s attorney, James Tilson, said his client missed the status hearing because he is recovering from several root-canal operations and was ordered by his dentist not to fly, the Yuma Sun reports.

“As a result, the court waived his appearance for that hearing,” Tilson said. “He still must appear at future hearings.”

Lil Wayne was arrested in January
after his tour bus was stopped at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Dateland, 78 miles east of Yuma. When the DEA searched the vehicle, they allegedly found nearly 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy and miscellaneous drug paraphernalia. They also found a .40-caliber pistol registered to Wayne, who has a concealed weapons permit in Florida.

Wayne (real name: Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.) has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include one count each of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons, possession of drug paraphernalia, transportation and or sale of a narcotic drug, and transportation or sale of a dangerous drug.

Tilson told the Sun he is planning to send the case back to the grand jury that indicted Wayne. “The grand jury came up with some charges the county attorney’s office did not ask for,” Tilson said.

Superior Court Judge Mark Wayne Reeves, who is presiding over the rapper’s case, has scheduled his next court date for October 9.